Games 84 and 85 - Salem HS vs Heritage HS

April 15 at Danny Blue Field in Conyers, GA

Usually when someone says "you really do see something new every day in baseball," I quickly disagree. Watch just one week of high school baseball and you may think you're seeing something new every day, but it's really just the same thing being done every day by a different player/team.

Oftentimes, what's "new" is really just another item that has been fried and available at 2 for $3 at the concession stand.

But on Wednesday, I actually did see something new: there were two high school baseball games and the bullpen wasn't used once. You see, to follow high school baseball on a regular basis is to at some point understand and accept the following things:

1. This pitcher will not throw a strike even if you allowed him to run the ball to the catcher and jam it into his glove. He'll slip and fall just as he's reaching the catcher and it'll be high and outside.

2. That lunatic in the crowd is not only someone's mother, but also someone's wife, someone's daughter and perhaps someone's sister. Just be happy you can leave and don't have to continue seeing her after tonight.

3. That lunatic in the crowd is not only someone's father, but also someone's husband, someone's son and perhaps someone's brother. Just be happy you can leave and don't have to continue seeing him after tonight.

4. When the seventh inning rolls around, HOT DOGS ARE GOING TO BE MARKED DOWN TO $1.

5. We're going to the 'pen, baby! We didn't convince to play varsity baseball this 6-2, 137-pound freshman with the 85 MPH fast ball that no one has any idea where it's going so we can NOT use him. 

So, two games and no pitching changes? Say it ain't Jack Chesbro.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh of game two I full expected a person who no one had ever seen before to come jogging out to the mound, make the call to the bullpen, take the ball from the starter and hand the ball to a new pitcher. Then the unknown person vanishes into thin air.

That didn't happen, though. No one vanished and Salem and Heritage, two old Rockdale County, Georgia rivals, produced a tidy, one-hour, 44-minute affair in the opener. Salem's Kevin Barham, who we've talked about before at 300 Game Season, had his control problems (seven walks, one hit batsman), but also picked up a pair of pick offs and showed a good, low-80s fast ball, striking out 13 batters in the Seminoles' 1-0 victory. It snapped a nine-game losing streak in the series for Salem, which last beat its crosstown rival in March, 2010.

Barham also drove in the only run of the game on a squeeze bunt in the sixth. He out-dueled Heritage ace Matt Studdard, who threw 50 less pitches than Barham (81 to 131), but his complete game resulted in a heart-breaking defeat.

Barham


Beneath a rolling mist in game two, Yoiler Guevara twirled a five-hit shut out in a 4-0 Patriots victory. Jordan Johnson was the final piece of the complete game quartet, allowing six hits and four earned runs in seven innings of work.

That may be the last time I ever write beneath a rolling mist.

Frozen? pickle juice?

Stopped by the concession stand for some water and 25 or 30 napkins when I discovered this sign:

That sign says FROZEN PICKLE JUICE - $.25

Concession stand worker No. 1: "It's like a pickle popsicle."

In my head: "That's a much better name than Frozen Pickle Juice. You're making it sound like it's a material that's being hoarded in case of a national emergency."

Concession stand worker No. 2, looked to be in her mid-30s: "It's been around for a long time. I remember it being around when I was younger at the skating rink."

Response: "Which skating rink was that?"

[No response from concession stand worker No. 2]

Concession stand worker No. 1: "So, do you want any frozen pickle juice?"

Response: "No. No I don't."